Members from NSS and the Space
Exploration Alliance blitz Congress to show support for an
ambitious space program

Washington, DC: Last week the nation's capital saw NSS
lead an unprecedented effort to show broad American support for the
new space exploration vision, the first 'Moon Mars Blitz.' This
major campaign was a spectacular success and demonstrates how NSS
is uniting the world of space to achieve our shared dreams and
goals.

Bringing together the twenty-one groups of the Space Exploration
Alliance, a coalition of non-profit space groups, the Blitz was the
first time that such a wide array of space constituencies have come
together to promote a common agenda.

The legislative effort was built from the National Space
Society's annual legislative conference. When the SEA was
announced, NSS invited the other groups to join the conference and
focus on the Moon Mars and Beyond plan.

And join they did! 76 participants answered the call, with NSS
members representing the largest contingent. From age 12 to age 70,
from across the country and all walks of life, the participants
demonstrate the broad support the new vision is finding across our
country.

After a full day of training, the participants broke into teams
and made visits to over 200 Congressional offices. Almost all the
visits found an appreciative audience, with staffers frequently
expressing the need for reaffirming the purpose of human
spaceflight since the Columbia accident, and defining goals which
will excite the explorers of tomorrow.

Thousands of personally signed petitions from NSS members to
their representatives and senators were presented during the
congressional visits, and made a particularly strong impression.
The connection between local grassroots organization and a focused
national effort was a critical link in the Blitz.

To all those who participated: thank you! To all those who
signed and returned petition: your efforts made a difference! We
have much more work to do, but the Blitz continues NSS leadership
as the preeminent citizen's voice of space in the nation's capital.
Ad Astra!

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The National Space Society (NSS) is an independent,
international, grassroots organization dedicated to the creation of
a spacefaring civilization. NSS has more than 22,000 members and 50
chapters in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Germany,
Ireland, and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1974, NSS is widely
acknowledged as the preeminent citizens voice on space.